Overview
- Emergency services launched an overnight search after his family reported him missing around 10 p.m. Sunday when he failed to return from a hike in the Peña de Aia (Aiako Harria) area of Oiartzun.
- Search teams located his body around 10 a.m. Monday in difficult terrain, and an Ertzaintza rescue helicopter recovered the remains.
- Authorities said no determination has been made on the cause of death, and the body has been sent to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Donostia for examination.
- The deceased was identified as Iván Apaolaza, a Beasain-born resident of Oiartzun who was extradited from Canada in 2008 and sentenced by Spain’s Audiencia Nacional in 2014 to 123 years for his role in the 2000 killing of Lt. Col. Pedro Antonio Blanco.
- He had been granted third-degree prison status in 2025, a step noted by victims' group Covite, and the civic network Sare conveyed condolences to his family.